See you tomorrow
by Achoopredator
Summary: The sun was out, the clouds were pretty much invisible, the brightness dominated the horizon, all the indications were there... that it was going to be a happy day. [Oneshot]


**_Disclaimer:_**

 ** _Just hear me out here. This is NOT the fic that you guys and girls voted for after reading the summary of 'Growth'. This is just a random one-shot I wanted to write, and the results of the votes will be in the A/N after this story. Not only that, there are also a few 'sort of' important things which I needed to say_** ** _so I'd like it if you bothered yourself with that A/N._**

 ** _Anyways, I hope you like this one-shot. I've written a one-shot before however it turned out to be an absolute disaster so hopefully this doesn't suffer a similar fate. Oh and please note that this has been heavily inspired by the fanfic 'Holding his gaze' by Candyland. If you have a decent amount of knowledge about Detective Conan, you should definitely check it out._**

 ** _Anyways, here we go..._**

* * *

The sun was out, the clouds were pretty much invisible, the brightness dominated the horizon, all the indications were there... that it was going to be a happy day. But that prediction is wrong in my case. Any guesses why?

"Hikki! Hurry up and cut the cake!" On the afternoon of 8th August, I'm stuck at a restaurant with my two clubmates. I've turned 18 and I'm stuck in a childish restaurant with two people waiting for me to cut a cake. If I have to describe this in one sentence, it would be...

 _Yahari ore no seishun wa machigatteiru..._

Anyways, as we speak, I focus on the cake which I must cut through. Nice and round, neat and tidy. In other words, an indication that Yuigahama wasn't in the 10 metre radius when said cake was being made.

Speaking of the two women in my presence, there was obviously Yukinoshita, dressed in a dark blue half-sleeved blouse alongside black jeans, which was not how she normally dresses but then again I've barely seen her outside of school during summer to say how she normally dresses. On the other hand, there was Yuigahama, who simply wore a long-sleeved orange T-shirt along with her white shorts. Generic female clothing is all I can say.

Anyways, it was painfully obvious that the effort put into this birthday 'party' of mine was significantly higher than the effort put towards any of their birthdays over the past 2 years we've known each other. Am I complaining? Maybe a bit.

"Hikki... are you okay?"

"Hah? Yeah I'm fine."

"You seem... weird."

Before I could answer, someone else decided it would be appropriate for her to intervene.

"In that case, isn't he just normal?" _Your jokes are so original Yukinoshita..._

I grabbed the knife at my disposal and cut a fairly small slice off the cake, and ate it. _Hmm... it's good. Another indication that Yuigahama wasn't involved in the making of this._

"It's really good, Yukinoshita."

"Actually Yuigahama-san helped quite a lot." she replied. _Wait what?_

"When you say 'helped' you mean..."

"In the process of making it." It is surprising enough that Yuigahama didn't poison the cake, forget actually making it delicious. I guess I've really been ignoring how these two individuals have grown so much over the time we've spent together. I feel like I may have been avoiding it on purpose. That's because maybe a part within me is expecting the three of us to drift completely apart after this final year at high school, and hence is trying to subdue the progress made in our relationships. But this is not something I should be worrying about now. _For real... THE Yuigahama Yui had a part in the making of this cake?!_

"Here... you two try some." The expressions on their faces implied that they were probably waiting for me to say that.

Since we were in a restaurant, we had ordered food. Shortly after the cake had been dealt with, one by one, our orders arrived. By 'orders' I meant the drinks to start with...

"Sir your coffee..." offered the waiter.

"Thank you."

"Ma'am your orange juice..." He offered to Yuigahama.

"Ahh... thanks!"

"And finally ma'am your iced tea..." He places the cup hesitantly in front of Yukinoshita. _Why is he being so hesitant? Is he flustered? He's at least like 30 years old though. Is he scared? Then scared of what? I guess the cup just must be too heavy..._

"Yukinoshita... can I hold that cup for just a second..."

"Huh... go on then."

I extended my hand and grabbed the cup which had Yukinoshita's iced tea. I tried picking it up however..

*CLANG*

The cup slipped out of my hands and landed on the floor, shattering into pieces. I watched in shame as everyone's eyes turned towards the scene I had created. I couldn't find a reason as to why the cup would slip out of my hands. I could bet that I took a firm grip of it. Maybe it was wet. _But why?_

Whilst one of the waiters arrived and got rid of the mess on the floor, I placed my hands on my own cup. _The surface does seem to have some sweat on it. Again... why?_ _How nervous was the waiter when he handed our drinks?_

I tried to find said waiter to speak to, however he wasn't in sight out of all the waiters.

I sincerely apologised to Yukinoshita, for whom I bought another iced tea, even though she rejected my offer at first. Thankfully nothing was spilled onto her in the incident. If anything happened to her, the scene would've been much worse. _MUCH worse..._

It seemed as if she had forgiven me given how she didn't make the whole situation awkward by staying silent.

"Our food will be arriving. Hikigaya-kun, I hope you have no interest in grabbing my plate this time." she said.

"I-I said I'm sorry."

"Well I guess considering that I have a nice cup of iced tea and I didn't have to pay anything extra for it, I guess I'll forgive you."

"Th-Thank you..." _AAAHHH THE EMBARRASSMENT!_

* * *

After completing our meal at the restaurant, we prepared for our departure. Yuigahama grabbed some bags whilst Yukinoshita grabbed her backpack. It was rather surprising to see Yukinoshita wearing a backpack of all available types of bags. _But wait, what is Yuigahama looking for?_

"Ahh... here we go..." said Yuigahama as she removed what looked like a sweater from her bag.

"What's this?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Your birthday gift! Me and Yukinon made it for you!"

"Ahh... thanks..."

As I took the sweater and stared at it, Yuigahama looked at me with an expression of expectancy.

"Yuigahama... you do realise that I'm not wearing it now. It's way too hot for this. I might wear it tomorrow and tell you if it fits or not."

"Mouuu just wear it Hikki!"

"Tomorrow... I promise."

"Okay... I'll just ask Komachi-chan to send me a picture then."

"Not happening."

"We'll see..." She gave one of the slyest winks I've ever seen. _Isshiki... it's definitely her fault._

* * *

Departing the restaurant, we were stood still whilst trying to decide where to go next. My intentions were pretty clear for me: Go home.

"Hikki! Yukinon! Let's watch a movie!" _Ahh dammit!_

"I personally have no problems, since the latest Pan-san movie is out." agreed Yukinoshita. _Trust me... you don't want to be the guy who prevented Yukinoshita Yukino from watching a Pan-san movie._

"Fine... movie then we go home." Although there was a bit of reluctance in my tone, I was happy to go for a film to an extent. I didn't know whether it was the guilt from the iced tea incident, or my will to spend more time with them. Because one thing I knew for sure was that I had little to no interest in Pan-san movies. In fact, it was probably because watching a film includes no physical challenge, and sleeping is very much an alternative. _Yes... that's definitely the reason._

As Yukinoshita led the way, I found out that something was wrong... YUKINOSHITA... was leading the way.

"Oi... Yukinoshita!"

"What?" she turned around.

"Don't you think you shouldn't be navigating?"

"Hikigaya-kun, I acknowledge my weaknesses, so let me try and work on them." That was certainly a strong response. I never expected Yukinoshita to admit a weakness, especially to me. But I wasn't freaking out, since she has changed a lot recently. _Don't freak out..._

As she turned back around and began walking again, I noticed something odd. There was a hole in Yukinoshita's backpack. Albeit not an orthodox hole, hence it didn't seem like a part of the bag's design in any way. It was unclear to me when the hole may have been made. But considering how it did look quite disturbing, I don't think that Yukinoshita knows of its existence yet.

I discussed the matter with Yukinoshita who revealed that she wasn't aware of the hole in her backpack, and was quite embarrassed when she saw it. As for the explanation for the hole, the three of us settled on _"It must have scraped off of something sharp."_ We didn't really discuss this any further, since there are a million ways in which the 'scraping' could've happened.

* * *

Standing at the ticket counter was a rather displeasing experience, considering that half of the people trying to buy tickets were either old men doing their infants a favour, or the infants themselves trying to impress their parents by going on an adventure and trying to buy the tickets themselves. Nevertheless, we got our tickets and made our way inside what was a rather empty hall. _After all... who watches Pan-san movies in a cinema hall? Let me rephrase that... who watches Pan-san movies?_

We found our seats in the middle of the hall, and occupied them. That was pretty much where everyone was sat, since the seats in the middle are usually the best ones. As soon as a man took a seat directly behind Yukinoshita, I took the opportunity to count the number of people in the hall. _Hmmm... only 34._

The uncommonly low attendance meant that I could freely migrate when it comes to seats. In the likely event of me falling asleep during the movie, I didn't want Yuigahama and Yukinoshita to notice that and call me disrespectful for it. _Maybe I could just... move few seats back._

"Hey..." I hesitated.

"What?" The two asked in unison.

"Since the hall is so empty, I feel like we should move seats, since there are so many people located in this area." _By 'we' I meant 'I'._

"Sure, why not?" said Yukinoshita. _Wait! You're meant to reject it!_

"Umm..."

"Come on. Let's go. I'm not a big fan of sitting in congested areas either. And I wouldn't like that to interfere with my experience of the movie." And so we relocated and found seats about five rows back. Given how the hall was rather compact, we pretty much ended up at the back of the hall. As the movie commenced, all I had to do... was not fall asleep. _Challenge accepted..._

* * *

As I slowly opened my fatigued eyes, I contemplated on where I was, and why there was a giant screen in front of me with an animated panda on it. _Oh shit... I fell asleep._

I took my phone out to check what time it was. Around half of the movie was gone, and I probably slept half of that. I guess Yukinoshita couldn't notice my asleep state due to how focused she seemed towards the movie. _Had I known that this would be the case, I wouldn't have bothered_ _moving seats in the first place_.

Feeling the fairly dull environment around me, I took the opportunity to do a recount of the attendance. _Hmm... 33. Clearly one person has had enough already. With all due respect to Pan-san, I can't exactly blame that person._

* * *

"... and the scene with Pan-san hiding in the tree was truly mesmerising, not to mention the..." As Yukinoshita rambled on about the movie, me and Yuigahama exchanged glares, as the latter silently giggled, indicating to each other how we felt about Yukinoshita analysing the movie in such detail. The movie seemed to end far too quickly, but I wasn't complaining. I guess this is an occasion where time flies when you're not having fun. However, did I regret my decision of agreeing to watch this movie? Not really. As weird as it may sound, I was happy that Yukinoshita was able to watch the film in peace. _Actually it was probably because I got to sleep... probably... wait no most certainly..._

Speaking of that woman, she didn't seem like she was going anywhere.

"Umm... umm..." The blush on her cheeks was enough to suggest how her hesitation was from embarrassment. "Umm..."

"What's the matter, Yukinon?" asked Yuigahama curiously.

"Umm... there are new editions of Pan-san cups that have been released. And we can get them if we buy a cold drink from there." _Kill me..._

"Fine... let's go." I insisted as we made our way back inside. We headed straight towards the soft drinks section where each of us decided to purchase different cold drinks. Yuigahama got herself a glass of orange-ish 'Tanfa', Yukinoshita got herself the cola 'Pespi', whilst I got myself 'Stripe', which pretty much looked like sparkling water.

"If you could excuse me for a second whilst I fill my cup with some ice." It seemed ironic for the ice queen to demand more ice. Meanwhile, I sipped my drink whilst also looking at the cup and thinking to myself _"This very item will be preserved by Yukinoshita in some sort of Pan-san museum. Damn... or should I say... eww."_

Surprisingly enough, it didn't take her too long, considering how the ice machine was reasonably far from where we were stood.

"That was quick." was my remark.

"Why so?"

"Isn't the ice machine far?"

"It is. However, there was a sign closeby that said it's not working, whilst there was a member of staff who was offering cubes from a mini freezer."

"Where is he?"

"Just go the direction I returned from. You should be able to find him." As I complied, nowhere in my vision was there a man with a little freezer, handing out ice cubes for people. Since it was getting very late, I decided not to spend time searching for him.

* * *

Just like before, we left the place, however this time with childish cups in our hands. Whilst Yuigahama seemed to enjoy her drink more than anything, I wasn't quite happy with mine. And considering how Yukinoshita was sipping hers as slowly as possible, it was fair to assume that she wasn't the biggest fan of her drink either. But considering how we only bought these purely for the cups, she probably thinks it's worth it.

"Yukinoshita..."

"Yes?"

"In the count of three, let's see who finishes their drink first. 3... 2-"

"W-Wait! Who said I agreed to your challenge?"

"You want to finish that drink quickly or not?"

"... 1" We attacked our drinks as if we'd been in a desert for way too long. And before you know it, the cups were drained out of all the liquid it contained. But the question was... _who finished theirs first?_

The answer... didn't really matter. All Yukinoshita wanted to do was to grab my empty cup and make it hers. Her own cup wasn't really empty, considering how the ice cubes hadn't melted at all to start with.

After glancing at the time on my watch, it was obvious that it was way too late for us to still be outside.

"Umm... I guess it's about time we head home, don't you think?" I insisted. Both of their lazy approvals indicated their tiredness. After a long day, all of us needed tranquility... and plenty of it. _I like talking about sleep._ On top of that, we're supposed to hold a study session tomorrow for Yuigahama as well. _Fantastic..._

We had reached the entrance of Yuigahama's apartment. It was time to say goodbye and good night for the day. _I don't know why I'm making such a big deal out of this. I'm gonna see her tomorrow._

With a prolonged yawn, Yuigahama spoke up. "Ahh... it was so much fun today! But we still have a lot to look forward to, right? This is gonna be a great year, right?" _Not if you keep getting shit grades._ "Right?" She seemed to demand an answer.

"Yeah sure why not?" was my reply.

"ANYWAYS!" _Ouch too loud!_ "Good night Hikki, Yukinon. And once again, happy birthday Hikki." She walked into the lobby from where she turned around one last time and said... "See you tomorrow." I kept staring as the figure of Yuigahama Yui vanished from my sight ever-so-slowly.

Once she entered the lift, I was able to turn away and get started with walking my other clubmate home.

"Shall we...?" I insisted.

"Actually that wouldn't be necessary. My driver will be coming to collect me somewhere nearby."

"Oh... I didn't know you'd arranged for a driver today."

"Trust me neither did I."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that recently my parents have been taking extra care of me, saying that my life may be in danger and what not." _Yukinoshita's life... in danger?_

The wind began to blow violently into the back of my head, bringing me back to my conscious state as I realised how we were slowly walking towards a park. In the midst of complete darkness and isolation, we found a bench and thus sat ourselves down on it. I was about to continue our previous conversation from where we left off, however it was Yukinoshita who broke the silence.

"W-Would you like a drink?"

"I'd definitely appreciate one, especially after the horrific ones we had not too long ago."

"In that c-case..." As much as she tried to hide it, her cheeks were turning redder by the second. "I know I've already contributed towards a birthday gift for you, but I also wanted to gift you something that is special to you, something that I know you'd appreciate. So..." The fidgeting hands of Yukinoshita held my eyes captive, as she removed a fresh can of MAX COFFEE from her backpack. "Here..."

I was well and truly mesmerized. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Yukinoshita Yukino going out of her way to do a nice gesture for me. It was way too much for my brain to handle, as I grabbed the can and held it in front of me.

"Th-Thanks" Popping the can open, I felt a tiny wave of guilt overcome me. I wasn't the only one in need of a drink.

"Yukinoshita..." I mumbled.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind lending me one of the cups we got today?"

"Sure... as long as you don't intend on keeping it." She brings her backpack in front of her one more time as she searches. This allowed me to notice that hole yet again. Without any apparent reason, that hole had been bothering me ever since I first saw it. _If it had legitimately 'scraped off of something sharp', shouldn't the hole look more like a slash horizontally, diagonally or vertically across,_ _rather than a hole in the middle?_

"Here..."

"Thanks" Just as planned, I took the cup and filled it with some coffee. "Here..."... and handed it back to Yukinoshita.

"I-I don't need it."

"Just think of it as a return gift."

"But why?"

"I want you to have it." After a few seconds of hopeless and silent resistance, Yukinoshita admits defeat and accepts my offer. "Trust me you'll like it."

"And what if I don't?"

"I'll compensate tomorrow."

"A-Alright then."

Our conversation ended as we began sipping on what I like to call 'The heaven's drink'.

"Ahh... amazing as always." One can never go wrong with some MAX COFFEE. Of all the things I've dropped, a can of MAX COFFEE has never been one of them. And it never shall. "How is it?"

"Well... I don't see what's so special about it."

"One day I'll have to sit down and explain to you why MAX COFFEE is one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind."

"Don't flatter yourself, Hikigaya-kun. A woman like me will never spend an entire day with someone like you." _Back to insults again..._

"As much as you may insult me, I can always imagine you coming to me when your family engages you with some random guy."

"That's called 'fantasizing'."

"I'd prefer the term 'calculated prediction'."

"In what way is this 'calculated'?"

"Give it a thought, you'll find out."

"We'll see..."

It was a strange atmosphere. It was a little park with a children's playground in it, the soothing wind was just about strong enough to move the swings. The squeaking noise made by these swings was very much audible to my ears, alongside the noise of the rustling leaves of course. The moon was about as bright as it's ever been. There were no signs of life at all, apart from the two of us and this random guy sitting two benches across. The strange part... is that if I had described the whole scene accurately however by using different words, it could well have come across as rather... spooky. But sitting here, next to Yukinoshita, sipping on my coffee, it was instead rather... blissful.

Sitting where I'm sat, one could see the road nearby, hence why I noticed it when a black limousine turned onto that road. This wasn't any limousine...

"It's here..." I mumbled ever-so-softly, maybe because I didn't want anyone to hear it.

"Oh... I guess I should get going then."

"I guess you should. It's getting really late anyways."

"Umm... happy birthday... I guess."

"Thanks"

With a gentle wave, she began walking towards her car. Every footstep she took, made a noise louder than any footstep has ever made...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

Soon enough, she reached her car for which the chauffeur opens the door. However, before she entered, she looked back at me one last time, and in her clear voice, uttered the words...

"See you tomorrow..." The car vanished from my sight in an instant, as I was left stranded in the middle of the park. _Time to go home..._

There were few things I had to carry. These included my own backpack, and the bag which had the sweater inside it. Grabbing said items, I set off on my way home, still sipping on my coffee. As I was walking away, I felt a change. An uncomfortable one. The wind had stopped almost completely, there was no squeaking of swings, and there was no rustling of leaves. Looking up at the night sky, the moon was gone. A cloak of dark clouds had taken away its brightness. In the midst of all this...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

These footsteps... weren't mine.

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

 _Again..._

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

 _And again..._

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

*TAP*...

 _And-_

"Do you know how it feels... to have a mere 17 year-old ruin your beautiful plans?" I panicked, turning around in every direction to find the source of the sinister voice. "Do you?" The figure of a grown man steps out of the darkness and comes face-to-face with me. He was covered in dark clothes from the top to bottom, from his mask to his shoes. His presence was rather... intimidating.

"Wh-Who... are you? And how do you know my age?"

"Don't play with me kid. You know exactly who I am. As for your age, wouldn't you expect me to know it since I know so much about the Yukino girl?" _What?_

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"You think I'm fucking stupid?! You think I don't know exactly what you did to stop me murdering that girl?!" _Murder? 'That girl'?_

The bag containing the sweater, and my can of coffee, both dropped onto the ground, as my hands trembled with fear.

"Yes..." he continued. "The younger daughter of the fucking Yukinoshitas, she's supposed to be dead. She would've been dead... if it wasn't for you."

"Wh-What do you want?"

"We'll get to that bit later. But first I want to know how. How did you know that her iced tea was poisoned? After all... you dropped it intentionally, didn't you? How did you know that I was coming to stab her right after you left the restaurant? After all... you called out to her which made her turn around and cause my knife to hit her backpack, didn't you? How did you know that in the cinema hall I sat behind her so that I could kill her when the hall was at its darkest? After all, you realised it and moved all the way to the back where I couldn't sit behind her anymore, didn't you? How did you know that halfway through the movie, I left to damage the ice machine so that I could provide her with the poisoned ice cubes prepared for this occasion? After all... you realised that and made her drink so fast that the ice cubes didn't even get a chance to melt and spread the poison... didn't you? You saw through everything I did, and made a reply for it. Until now, I was scared of you, because I felt like I was dealing with someone with an ability to see through things so well, that there was no way I could defeat you. But then... you did something..."

He had spoken enough. I had realised my imminent fate. It was heartbreaking at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I accepted it. The more I accepted it... the more ready I was for it. _Or was I..._

"It seems like you don't know." He quickly glances at the bench where me and Yukinoshita were sat, as if he was trying to remind himself of what had happened. "The cup which had the poison, you made her drink coffee in that. Why? Even if she had disposed of the cubes, there would still be traces of poison in that cup. And you made her drink from that... why?"

"No..." I held my head in despair of what I had done. _Please don't tell me that she..._

"Don't worry, don't worry. I've done enough research on the poison which I used, and the mere traces aren't enough to do any significant damage to her body. She won't die. However..."

*CLICK*

Following the noise, the man in front of me swings his right hand from a pocket, and points a pistol at my head. With an evil grin, he speaks again...

"What should I do about you?" His gesture confirmed my worst fears.

Just as I concluded on my fate, I heard a cry, a very loud one. It wasn't coming from anyone around me. It was a noise I felt from within. It was the cry of a baby. It was loud, sweet... but painful. The crying never seemed to stop, until a woman's voice spoke up...

 _"Hey... have you got a name for him?"_

I didn't know if I was being asked this question, but a male voice did reply.

 _"Hachiman... we'll name him Hachiman."_

 _"That's a weird name."_

 _"Seriously? He's born on the 8th of August. How could we not name him 'Hachiman'?"_

I momentarily closed my eyes, allowing myself to dive deeper into this dream.

 _"Hachiman look... we brought you a sister, her name is Komachi."_ _..._ _"ONII-CHAN! Make sure you have fun! It's your 18th birthday after all! But remember... Komachi is too young to be an aunty so please don't do anything stupid!"_ _Heh... typical Komachi._

Since I recalled each one of my family members, I expected the little dream to end there. However, I was most certainly wrong.

 _"Hiratsuka-sensei, I believe I've told you to knock before you come in."_ _..._ _"E-Excuse me. Hiratsuka-sensei told me to come here. Hah! Wh-Why the hell is Hikki here?!"_ And just as I'm about to enter realty again, I heard those two voices say in unison...

 _"See you tomorrow..."_

My eyes aren't able to close anymore as I realised... the dream was over. Looking straight again, I noticed that the man was in the exact same position as he was before the dream began. _Maybe... it was just a blink._ Soon enough, he had removed his mask and revealed a face I've only seen once before in my life. _Of course... who else could it be... apart from the waiter himself._

"Heh..." I grinned. Since my fate was so damn obvious, I was almost ready to embrace it. Embrace it with... courage. "Just a petty waiter... that's all you are."

He walks up to me and smacks my jaw with his pistol. It was all a blur for me, as I could only feel myself spitting blood, whilst not being able to see much.

"You think you're funny, huh? I'm giving you a chance to speak, or do you not want it?"

I was just about able to gather what he said. Clearly, I had the choice of how much longer I'll survive tonight.

On the other hand, the man decided to not let me reply, as he proceeded to say a few words, from the tone of which, were his last words to me.

"You may think I'm evil. And you're right. I am. But this is my job. When it comes to hunting down my victims, I'm good at it... which is all that counts. So... you-"

"You're good at hunting down your victims? Oh please. You can't be saying that to me. You don't even seem to know your victim. I'm 18, not 17. And I'm not a child of a prestigious family. In other words, I'm not even your victim. Yukinoshita Yukino is. Or at least, she was supposed to be. You couldn't kill her. Or according to you, I didn't let you kill her. I, a mere boy, stopped you from assassinating your 'victim'. That just makes you an amateur murderer who decided to take on the role of an assassin with no real abilities whatsoever. So, why are you killing me? Because according to you, I possessed a major threat to your chances of killing Yukinoshita. So you think that killing me will increase your chances at killing her? No... you're wrong. The Yukinoshita family will find out about my death, and increase the security on their daughters even more. Good luck with that. You can't even go back and let me live, now that I've seen your face. So kill me. But don't feel guilty when years later you're either in prison or somewhere else leading an unsuccessful life. Don't feel guilty that you ruined your 'job' because you killed an 18 year-old for whom only 5 people attended the funeral. Now go ahead... shoot me." As I exhaled loudly, it was about time that it all ended. "I'm ready." _I wasn't. I may have been different, I may have been weird, but at the end of the day, even I had dreams, even I had aspirations, even I... had people whom I loved. I wanted to be alive to see Komachi succeed. I wanted to be alive to see my friends, as few as I may have had, I wanted to see them overcome their problems. I wanted to be alive for the day when my parents retired, so that I could spend some time with them... as little as that time may be. I wanted to be alive for the day when Yuigahama graduates from university, so that I could proudly giggle when it happens. I wanted to be alive for the day... when the cynical Hikigaya Hachiman confesses his feelings for the first time. Even if I die, I'll be happy that I was able to do so... after I saved her. She did ask for it... in Destinyland. How could I ever reject it?_

I looked up at the man in order to make his shot easier for him. Little did I know, he was trembling. His face had no expression, as if he was still thinking about what I had just said. This wasn't the only opportunity that I had to get up and run. But doing so would only make the ordeal much more painful, since there was no way I would've been able to outpace him, thus allowing him to catch up and put me through more unnecessary pain before bringing me to my eventual death.

Bringing the tip of the pistol to point-blank range from my forehead, he still wasn't quite ready.

"Turn around." he said.

"I decline."

"Close your eyes."

"I'd rather have you look me in the eye when you pull that trigger." As easy as you'd expect it to be, he still wasn't quite ready. In order to put an end to my misery, and a start to his, I could indirectly pull the trigger for him. "Are you scared?"

* * *

...

* * *

Mourning. One of the emotionally hardest stages an individual can ever go through, if not the hardest.

If you give a child a unique toy they'll love, they'll be ecstatic. Confiscate the toy for a while, they'll get annoyed. Confiscate the toy permanently, they'll feel destroyed, whilst trying to somehow gain access to it. Crush the toy into pieces and return it to the child, they would feel beyond devastated, to the point that there's no room for mercy for the culprit.

As the younger daughter of the Yukinoshita family got discharged from hospital after an incident regarding poisoning, she proceeded to prepare herself for the day. This was the day she would say her final goodbyes to one of her only friends...

* * *

The very morning after his birthday, Yukinoshita Yukino found herself waking up in a hospital. The first thing she noticed was the sound. The sound of two men talking. She could make out that one of them was significantly older than the other, said older individual also being her father. However, she had no clue whatsoever regarding the owner of the other voice. But she could clearly hear the two conversing.

"Kudo-san, are you certain that this guy we're talking about didn't try to poison my daughter then commit suicide himself?"

"Very certain. Inspector Megure informed me that there was no gun on the scene, hence he couldn't have shot himself. Besides, he was shot in the middle of his forehead, and that's not a common place for a suicide victim to shoot themself in."

"So the murderer of the kid and the guy who tried to poison my daughter..."

"Are likely to be the same person, yes." As Mr Yukinoshita keenly listens to what the detective had to say, his daughter kept her eyes shut, trying to eavesdrop whilst remaining as incognito as possible. "However, since no critical damage has been done to your daughter, I'm inclined to believe that said murderer didn't have a clear-cut attempt at killing your daughter."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'll explain when I'll get the opportunity. Meanwhile you may want to speak to your awoken daughter."

"Ahh... Yukino you're awake..."

"Dad..." She softly spoke as she remained confused as to why she was here. "... what's going on?"

"Umm-"

"Before you go on to explain everything..." interrupted the detective. "... I'd like to ask her the questions I needed her for."

"Sure... go ahead."

"Right... Ms Yukinoshita Yukino, last night, what is the last drink you remember having?"

"Umm... coffee. MAX COFFEE to be precise."

"And do you remember where you bought it from, or who gave it to you?"

"I bought it myself from a nearby convenience store as a birthday gift for Hikigaya-kun. He was about to drink it but he ended up offering me some as well." Just as she said that, Mr Yukinoshita instantly looked up at the young detective with an expression saying _"I knew it..."_

"Do you remember what you used in order to drink it?"

"A cup..."

"Tell me any interactions anyone has had with that cup since you gained its ownership."

"..."

"Anything?"

"A man offered me some ice cubes which I accepted."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I remember."

"Right... I'm gonna need you to remember the man's face. Whenever you're ready you'll be required to describe him for us, okay?"

"Umm... may I ask what this is for?"

"Let's just say it's for something important." Satisfied with the answers, detective Kudo Shinichi walks out of the room, leaving Yukinoshita Yukino alone with her father.

By this time, she had gained more of her consciousness, which allowed her to analyse the situation in depth. And as a result, she couldn't help but feel... worried.

Sitting straight up on her bed, she nearly shouts at her father, demanding for answers.

"What is going on?! What happened to me?!"

"Yukino... please calm down. Someone tried to poison you yesterday. That's all."

"Dad... why does it seem like you're trying to hide something?" Looking at the concern in her eyes, Mr Yukinoshita tried not to reveal whatever he's hiding.

"It doesn't matter, Yukino. All that matters is that you're alive and well."

"Dad..." Yukino gives her father the coldest stare that she could produce. He had no other choice but to...

"The park from where you were picked up yesterday... a young boy was found dead this morning in the same park." Yukino stared blankly as if her soul was on the verge of being sucked out of her.

"Who... is this boy?"

"His name is..."

* * *

Preparing her room for the study session, Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but feel excited about it. It would be a fair guess to say that this excitement probably had nothing to do with studying, but instead it was more to do with enjoying the company of her clubmates.

"Mama!" she called out.

"Yes Yui?" replied Mrs Yuigahama from the kitchen.

"Hikki and Yukinon will be coming over soon so could you please arrange for some snacks?"

"Is this one of those study sessions where you don't really study?"

"You don't have to call it that."

"It's true though. All you do is stare at Hikki-kun."

"N-N-Non-sense! I've never done that!"

"Sure..." With a cunning smile, Mrs Yuigahama leaves the kitchen and heads towards her bedroom. Meanwhile...

*RING RING* *RING RING* Yui's phone rings loudly, as she quickly latches onto it to see who she's received a phone call from.

 _"Ah... it's Yukinon."_ she thought. Answering the call, she attempts to greet her friend in her usual fashion.

"Yaha-" She was stopped abruptly as she heard the devastating sound of Yukinoshita Yukino... sobbing. "Yukinon... what's wrong?"

It didn't stop. In fact, it just got worse. It was obvious that the ice of Yukinoshita Yukino had been broken and decimated. But Yuigahama Yui just couldn't guess why.

"PLEASE! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG!"

And so she did...

* * *

As she finished getting ready for the day, Yuigahama Yui joined her mother who was to accompany her to the funeral.

As they reached their destination, it was proven that Hikigaya Hachiman... was wrong. There were not 'only five people' who attended his funeral. There was obviously his family, who were understandably the most grief-stricken after the incident. There were numerous students and teachers from his school, indicating that through the service club, he may not have made many people like him, but he certainly made some people care for him. There was the entire Yukinoshita family, along with the investigation team, all there to pay respect to an innocent young man, who did nothing to deserve this fate.

There were tears, not in the eyes of many, but still enough to create the sight sorry enough.

Engraved in bold letters on the stone, were the words 'In the memory of Hikigaya Hachiman: 8 August 1998 - 8 August 2016'

Amongst the crowd, Yukinoshita Yukino tried her best to hide her face as she wept miserably. Her majestically beautiful face had most certainly seen better days. She wept as if the best part of her life had been snatched away from her. Given how her life had been thus far, one could say that the previous statement is no exaggeration.

On the other hand, Yuigahama Yui was probably the one who looked the most broken in the crowd after the victim's sister and mother. Words can't describe how broken she looked. She struggled to even stand still, let alone control her tears. Her eyes were fixed onto the coffin as the ceremony went past. She didn't look away... until she felt something brush past her feet.

She looked down to see what it was, only to find her dog as she made eye contact with it. As blurry as her vision was, she could still clearly see the drop of tear in her dog's eye.

"WOOF! WOOF!" Sable barked in a sorrowful manner, trying its hardest to portray its feelings.

Its owner let out a woeful smile, as she grabbed the dog and hugged it tightly, only to start crying again.

If only he saw all this...

If only he heard all this...

If only he felt all this...

If only he knew... that on the day of the funeral...

 _The sun was out, the clouds were pretty much invisible, the brightness dominated the horizon, all the indications were there... that it was going to be..._ _..._ _..._

 _... a happy day._

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _Okay if this also ends up as a rubbish oneshot, I'm permanently giving up on oneshots. Anyways, I really hope you liked it(duh...). If you did, don't forget to leave a thumbs-up and subscribe to- oh wait... this is not YouTube. Obviously I'd wholeheartedly appreciate any favorites, so please do that if you want to. Actually... do that even if you don't want to. Just kidding... well that's all from the section of the A/N which discusses the oneshot. Now it's time to move on to the other stuff..._**

 ** _A change in my writing style, as you may have noticed, is regarding the change of POV. I found out that saying 'Hachiman POV', 'Yui POV', etc is considered amateurish. As the replacement, I'll switch POVs with_**

* * *

 ** _..._**

* * *

 ** _for which obviously it's up to me to make sure that the reader is able to identify whose POV I've switched to. Meanwhile, I'd still be representing changes in scenes with a single line._**

 ** _Anyways, now... the moment you've been waiting for... the results of the votes. Before we get to it, I'll just state the scoring system that I came up with._** ** _For all reviews and PMs on this website..._**

 ** _100 points for first preference_**

 ** _75 points for second preference_**

 ** _50 points for third preference_**

 ** _For all reviews on the Russian website..._**

 ** _50 points for first preference_**

 ** _35 points for second preference_**

 ** _20 points for third preference_**

 ** _My reason for giving less priority to the Russian website is because they may end up not reading whatever I write, in case the translator decides to not translate my next fic._**

 ** _Obviously there were some reviews/PMs where the preferences weren't really clear, so in those cases I just used my brain cells to give out scores which I found appropriate._** ** _So without further ado, here are the results..._**

 ** _Actually wait let's just remind ourselves of the options first._**

 ** _Option 1 was the detective one_**

 ** _Option 2 was the one with pets_**

 ** _Option 3 was the Kawasaki one_**

 ** _Option 4 was the Yui one._**

 ** _Option 5 was the sequel_**

 ** _And finally option 6 was the tour_**

 ** _NOW... let's look at the results..._**

 ** _6) Option 2: 425 points_**

 ** _5)_** **_Option 4: 535 points_**

 ** _4) Option 1: 755 points_**

 ** _3) Option 3: 805 points_**

 ** _2) Option 6: 1615 points_**

 ** _1) Option 5: 1635 points_**

 ** _Yeah... sequel it is_** **_then. I've already typed up like 3k words of the first chapter. I had originally planned on announcing the results in that chapter(which would've had no meaning because the results would've already been declared as soon as you read the title of the fic) but then obviously decided against it, mainly because I really wanted to write another oneshot._**

 ** _Okay now listen. This story was originally completed by 21 October 2016, which is why the latter part of this A/N from here onwards is also ancient af. I could remove it and write an updated latter part of the A/N, however I've delayed this story's upload long enough, so I won't be wasting time anymore. I've left it as it was cuz reading through it I found it rather funny and cringey at the same time, so why don't you guys experience it as well? Just remember that it was still in draft form so half the things wouldn't make sense and there would be errors everywhere. Enjoy!_**

 ** _Now HANG ON A MINUTE! You might think I'm gonna go off and write the sequel... well you're right, but just wait... amongst all reviews left as a vote, there was one that particularly interested me._** ** _?_** ** _Now as a fellow fan of Yui myself, I 100% understand you. If I was in your place, I would've thought exactly how you did, hence I couldn't help but feel empathetic._**

 ** _I originally planned to mention your review in this A/N and then apologise politely, however, I've recently had some inspiration, therefore..._** ** _Yup. I will TRY to upload that fic alongside as well. I've already written like 1k words for that. But some of you know what happened the last time I tried to upload 2 fics at once..._** ** _But anyways, here's what's up for now..._** ** _What I'll try to do: Upload options 4 and 5_**

 ** _What I at least should be able to do: Upload option 5_**

 ** _A grim possibility: The 'incident' happens and I can't upload anymore_** ** _But hey... let's not worry about that, shall we?_**

 ** _Anyways, I guess this is where I speak some random shit that no one really reads..._**

 ** _In case you haven't watched it already, Kimi no na wa is a great movie, worthy of the recognition it's getting. If you've already watched it, the scene when Mitsuha opens her fist... AAARRRRGH IT STILL GETS ME EVERYTIME! When I say 'get' I don't mean I start crying, I just mean that my cold heart has a little meltdown... add to that the music and-_** ** _We are edging closer to the OVA. But to be honest, it mainly consists of Iroha so I'm not too excited._** ** _Does anyone know what happened regarding_** **_'Growth' because I was looking at the traffic graph and there was a sudden increase from 10 views in 2 October to 164 views in 3 October. Like seriously... does anyone know what happened? Did my story get some sort of recommendation or something? That would be really cool if it did._**

 ** _Anyways..._**

 ** _Thank you for reading :)_**


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